Bagudu: Nigeria risks economic loss without result-driven nutrition policies

Atiku Bagudu, the minister of budget and economic planning, says Nigeria is risking substantial economic loss by not implementing result-driven nutrition policies.

Bagudu spoke in Abuja on Thursday at a high-level dialogue on the cost of inaction on nutrition in Nigeria, organised by the ministry of budget and economic planning in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada and Nutrition International.

The minister said the cost of malnutrition on the Nigerian economy is estimated at $56 billion annually, equivalent to about 12.2 percent of the country’s gross national income (GNI).

He said there is a need to address the huge malnutrition burden in the country “that results in an estimated 23 million intelligent quotient (IQ) points lost annually”.

“It is pathetically worrisome that Nigeria is risking a substantial economic loss in billions of dollars, lost productivity, and needless public health expenditures due to our inaction in implementing result-driven nutrition policies,” he said.

“Sustainable financing remains among the best options to drive our multisectoral approaches to improving nutrition and food security.

“This will entail an increased commitment from public and private sources, reducing reliance on development partners and donors to implement programmes and initiatives that address the root causes of malnutrition.

“My ministry is propelled by its understanding of the negative consequences of malnutrition on health and other socioeconomic issues to prioritise nutrition in the national development plan (NDP) and Nigeria agenda 2050.”

Bagudu assured that his ministry is collaborating with the office of the vice-president and the national economic council (NEC) to cascade nutrition interventions to the grassroots through the recently launched Nutrition 774 initiative in all 774 LGAs of Nigeria.

Chike Okafor, chairman of the of house of representatives committee on nutrition and food, said the conversation to tackle the twin challenges of malnutrition and lack of food cannot start and end in Abuja.

He said the dialogue must be brought down to states, LGAs, wards, and communities, where the hunger and malnutrition are mostly prevalent.

“Seventy percent or more of the persons that live in Abuja can afford a good and balanced diet,” Okafor said.

“In collaboration with the committees of the various state assemblies, we are doing a lot, one of which is to reduce or abolish through legislation the long-standing issue of multiple taxation of food and farm produce in transit from one part of the country to another, a major driver of food insecurity and inflation, among several other initiatives.”